Divas of Desire

Meet The Divas

Meet The Divas & Their Books

Showing posts with label review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label review. Show all posts

Friday, June 6, 2014

Bride Undone by Kate Deveaux #Review Tour #Giveaway #LNBookPromos

NEW RELEASE!

BRIDE UNDONE

 ***Please note: Kate is giving away 2 $50 Amazon Gift Cards and 5 ebook copies of Bride Undone. Check out the Rafflecopter below!***

This bride takes ‘I do’ to a whole new level — 
just not with the groom.


A Romantica®  erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave
General Release: April 11, 2014
ISBN: 9781419903540

Synopsis -

In one week Chloe will walk down the aisle. Yet she’s a bride who can’t stop spying on the weddings of total strangers. Desperate to catch a glimpse of what true love really looks like, she is having serious second thoughts about tying the knot.
Until she meets Wes — the sexy long lost father of her groom. The hunk from Texas confirms her worst fears. She is marrying the wrong man.


Battling her intense attraction for Wes, the flame between them burns too hot to resist. Chloe and Wes give into their scorching passion and struggle with the consequences of their love.

Buy links:



Excerpt:

The door opened and Chloe jumped.
 “Chloe?” Wes said in surprise. He froze in the doorway, his jaw tight and his eyes dark.
“Wes, I had to come talk to you.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” He nervously glanced out into the hall. “I told you I’m sorry.” He stepped inside the room, leaving the door wide open.
He walked over to his desk and rested his fingers on the glass. “We really shouldn’t be together. I’m leaving today.”
“No, no, Wes.” She moved toward him. “It’s not your fault.”
Wes’ eyes changed from amber to dark espresso. “I have to get to a board meeting. Please go, Chloe.”
Her eyes searched his and she saw pain in his dark gaze. “I can’t.” She moved one step closer to him.
Wes shook his head. “I shouldn’t have come for the wedding. None of this would have happened.”
“Yes...yes, you should have.” A hint of desperation crept through her. “Well actually, there isn’t going to be a wedding, but that’s not your fault.” She searched for the right words. “I was having second thoughts before you ever arrived. I was going to churches and watching complete strangers get married. The wedding was doomed before you ever got here.” Her words tumbled out faster than she could think them.
Wes said nothing but his raised eyebrows and taut neck muscles told her she wasn’t getting through to him.
“I knew what Conner and I had wasn’t right, that there was something missing.” She knew she was babbling but she had to let him know how she felt. “I have feelings for you, Wes...feelings I can’t hide. You probably think I’m crazy, spying on strangers’ weddings, but it just wasn’t right, me and Conner. And when I met you I knew. The minute I met you.” Tears welled in her eyes.
Wes looked stunned, as if someone had punched him in the stomach. She thought he was going to bolt from the room. He stood there staring at her before striding quickly toward the open door.
Instead of leaving, he paused and looked back at her and then shut the door and deliberately pressed the lock button. He said nothing, just turned on his heels and walked back to his desk, placing his hand on the phone.
Shit, he was going to phone Conner. He was going to keep her there captive in his office and call Conner and tell him what a nut bar his fiancée was.
Immobile, she watched him as he picked up the phone.
“Marie. Cancel the board meeting.” He looked up at Chloe and they locked eyes. Chloe’s stomach flipped and she started to tremble as Wes spoke into the phone. “Some new information came and in and I need time to review it. Send them all back downstairs, will you?”
He hung up the phone and stood behind the desk, his posture tense. Chloe’s heart pounded in her chest.
“Chloe,” he said gently, coming around the front of the desk, but carefully keeping his distance from her.
“You might have cold feet. Everyone does. It’s natural.” His eyes softened to amber but she could see the tension in his taut neck muscles remained, belying his calm tone. “I didn’t mean to lead you on.”
Dammit. How dare he think he’d led her on? How dare he discount her feelings so casually and sound so condescending? She knew he felt it when they kissed. And he must be scared. She was too. His expression hardened and she braced for his rebuke.
Wes looked at her, but was silent.
“Wes, it’s not your fault.” She struggled to convince him. “But I can’t marry your son. I have feelings for you and I can’t ignore them. I don’t want to.” She stepped toward him, praying he didn’t push her away.
He didn’t move, just stood there stone-faced.
“Don’t tell me you don’t feel it too.” She gazed at his chiseled face, his strong jaw, the flicker of gold in his eyes making her melt inside as they turned tender.
“Chloe,” he said softly. “What am I going to do with you?”
“You feel it too, don’t you?” She narrowed the space between them until she could feel the heat off his body and the thrum of his pulse.
“Fuck,” he cursed as he looked down at his cowboy boots and then slowly back up at her. He shook his head as if in defeat and pulled her to him. He pressed her body hard against his, jarring her with the impact, but loving the strength in his embrace.
His lips met hers and he kissed her, hard and demanding. “Chloe,” he murmured, wrapping his arms tightly around her and making her body hum with desire. “Yes, I feel it too.” One hand smoothed the hair from her face, the other cupped her ass firmly as he pulled her harder to him and parted her waiting lips with his tongue.
She welcomed his tongue eagerly as she grabbed his broad shoulders, running her hands along his strong back, feeling the muscles ripple under her fingers as he moved her across the room while kissing her.
The backs of her legs met the edge of the couch as he hovered over her, pushing her down as he kissed her lips hungrily, then down her neck, trailing his lips along her décolleté. It was if he was going to devour her and she ached for it.

***Nona’s review of Bride Undone by Kate Deveaux***

The author set up an interesting conflict among the bride-to-be, her fiancé, and the fiance’s father. From the start, our heroine Chloe doubts whether her upcoming marriage to Conner is the right choice. Though their relationship is pleasant and easy going, they don’t connect sexually and Chloe wonders if what she feels is true love.

Her doubts are exacerbated when she meets Conner’s estranged father Wes and feels an immediate attraction to him. She downplays this to herself, wanting to help the two men reconnect after spending years apart. But the electricity between them will not be denied, especially when Wes makes it clear that he’s just as drawn to Chloe as she is to him.

I admired the two main characters wanting to do the right thing by Conner. Neither one wants to hurt him, and Chloe doesn’t want to cheat on him. (Frankly, I would have dumped him sooner, considering how his intrusive mother had him tied to her apron strings. Chloe would have had the mother in law from hell!) When she breaks things off with Conner, he reveals a much more disturbing side of his personality.

The rest of the story focuses on Wes and Chloe’s romance and sexual adventures on his yacht as they tour the Virgin Islands. These were a number of very smexy scenes, but all is not paradise as Chloe wonders what kind of future she can share with Wes. He, on the other hand, worries that his newfound connection with his son is forever destroyed. The doubts on both their parts threaten their fragile happiness.

Bride Undone was a fun, sexy romance with a hero to die for. I envied Chloe not only her adventure in the islands, but her time with Wes!  Both characters have to wrestle with some serious emotion and make choices affecting their future. The only aspect I felt was left hanging was the relationship between Wes and his son. I wish that had been resolved for a more satisfying ending to the story.


Readers who like their erotic romance with a touch of angst will enjoy Bride Undone.  

Kate is busy completing several books for release 2014, each filled with sexy romance, heroines who are no shrinking violets, and heroes who make your heart skip a beat…
Coming soon in 2014….Platinum Pleasures and A Vixen in Venice


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thursday, May 8, 2014

The Hungry Heart by Meg Benjamin #Review #GoddessFish #giveaway

**Meg will be awarding a $50 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn commenter during this tour and her Virtual Book Tour. Follow and comment often to increase your chances to win. Check out the Rafflecopter below!**

Hungry Heart
by Meg Benjamin

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

Peace, love, and barbecue—with a big order of sexy on the side.

Sous chef Darcy Cunningham is less than entranced with small-town Konigsburg’s obsession with barbecue. But her future career as a chef de cuisine requires expanding her culinary horizons, so she talks the Barbecue King, a.k.a. Harris Temple, into taking her on as his apprentice.

However, learning Harris’s professional secrets wasn’t supposed to include falling for his spicy blend of smoky sexiness and laid-back charm.

Chico Burnside specializes in flying under Konigsburg’s small-town radar, but lately life has been going a little too smoothly, even for him. Hoping to shake things up a bit, he talks Harris into teaming up for Konigsburg’s first barbecue cook-off. But once shy scientist Andy Wells catches his eye, Chico’s got more on his mind than brisket. Like enticing her out of her shell to show her just how tenderly a big guy can love.

As the competition ignites, so does the romance. Until a natural disaster threatens to derail Konigsburg’s dream team before the grills even get good and warmed up.




Excerpt:

He leaned forward slowly, maybe giving her a chance to run. A chance she wasn’t going to take. His lips brushed hers, lightly, as his hands cupped her face. He rubbed his thumbs across her cheekbones, dark eyes watching her carefully.

The flecks of green had deepened, making his eyes even darker now. She leaned forward, placing her hands on his shoulders, bringing her mouth against his more firmly. The contact seemed to send an arrow of heat through her body, making her nipples ache, her pulse warm again.

His mouth opened against hers and she let him inside, rubbing her tongue against his, feeling it rasp against her teeth. She sucked his lower lip for a moment, nipping him lightly, hearing the catch in his breath.

His hands dropped to her breasts, cupping, then rubbing them, his palms brushing her nipples to hard points. She felt cool air against her back as he pushed her shirt up, his fingers fumbling with the catch on her bra. His lips drifted down the side of her throat, leaving a trail of heat as he did.

She pushed his shirt up, running her fingers through the slight dusting of hair across his chest, then down along the ripple of muscle over his stomach.

His hands cupped her breasts, pushing the bra aside. He leaned down, taking one nipple into his mouth, sucking, his tongue laving the aching peak.

Somewhere behind them something beeped loudly. Porky came awake with a woof.

“Shit.” His hands dropped to her hips, his forehead pressed against her breasts. “Shit. Fuck. Goddamn.”

“Timer’s beeping,” she muttered. “And Porky’s awake.”

He nodded, his forehead still resting on her collarbone.

“Fire’s ready. And you’re behind with the meat as it is.”

He raised his head to look at her. “I didn’t plan this.”

“I know.” She wasn’t entirely sure what he meant—the timing with the meat or the timing with the two of them. She brushed a hand across his cheek, pushing his hair back from his face.

“I don’t want to stop.”

“I don’t either.” She slid back a few inches, moving her hands to his shoulders. “But like you once said, barbecue waits for no man.”


**Nona’s Review of Hungry Heart by Meg Benjamin**

Hungry Heart is a down-home, down-to-earth romance by Meg Benjamin set in Konigsburg, Texas (Book Eight in the Konigsburg Series). Now I’m not a Texan, but apparently barbecue (also known as ‘cue) is a big deal in the Lone Star State. When The Barbecue King (aka Harris) runs into Darcy things start smoking, baby. Darcy is a sous-chef at The Rose Restaurant, but has her eyes on bigger and better things. The King has ambitions, too, of starting his own barbecue place. When he insults Darcy’s fancy potato salad, she sees red. But she also notices how hot The King is. Thinking it can’t hurt to learn more, she offers to help him out in exchange for him teaching her how to make ‘cue. Things heat up between them pretty fast.

There’s a secondary romance as well, featuring Andy and Chico. Chico’s a big tough-looking guy with a tender heart. Though he works as a bar bouncer, he’s also part-owner in the business. His size intimates people and leads them to underestimate his intelligence. Andy is drawn to him and his gentleness with her, though is uncomfortable with the stares the townspeople direct their way. Things gets touchy when Chico, who’s a dab hand at ‘cue himself, enlists The King to join him in entering the local Barbecue cook off. Andy’s verbally abusive ex-husband was a cook-off champ and the whole thing (pardon the pun) leaves a bad taste in her mouth.

Hungry Heart is an enjoyable and sexy read. It was fun to read a romance featuring people you might meet in your own home town. The story had a very realistic feel. Which isn’t to say there was no drama: Andy’s nasty ex returns to town, The King comes face to face with someone from his past, and Darcy has to decide if she’s finally ready to settle down in one place. There’s also an exciting scene with the four of them battling a severe rainstorm that threatens to destroy everything The King has worked so hard for. Not to mention the cook-off itself, where The King is accused of sabotaging another contestant’s entry.


I haven’t read any of Ms. Benjamin’s other Konigsburg novels, but now I’d like to. Characters appear in the story who’ve starred in other installments in the series and I’m interested in reading about them, too. If you enjoy small town romance featuring hot, hunky heroes and sassy, appealing heroines you’ll eat up Hungry Heart. And you’ll learn a few things about ‘cue!     
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Meg Benjamin is an author of contemporary romance. Her Konigsburg series for Samhain Publishing is set in the Texas Hill Country and her Medium trilogy for Berkley InterMix is set in San Antonio’s King William District. Meg’s books have won numerous awards, including an EPIC Award for Contemporary Romance, a Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award for Indie Press Romance, the Holt Medallion from Virginia Romance Writers and the Beanpot Award from the New England Romance Writers. Meg lives in Colorado with her DH and two rather large Maine coon kitties (well, partly Maine Coon anyway). Her Web site is http://www.MegBenjamin.com and her blog is http://megbenj1.wordpress.com/. You can follow her on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/meg.benjamin1), Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/megbenjamin/), and Twitter (http://twitter.com/megbenj1). Meg loves to hear from readers—contact her at meg@megbenjamin.com.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday, April 25, 2014

Love's Sorrow by Terri Rochenski #Review #Giveaway



**Make sure to check out the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win Terri's prizes!**

Title:  Love’s Sorrow (Means of Mercy #1)
Author:  Terri Rochenski
Publisher:  Roane Publishing
Release Date:  April 21, 2014
Keywords:  Sweet, Historical Romance

Blurb:
Hired as a nanny for her cousin’s children, Anne Tearle finds security and a loving family. The children are a dream, but London society is a world of its own, one where a displaced farm girl has no business being. But, wealthy rake, Gavin MacKay, helps her to see associating with the upper class might not be as horrid as she first assumed.

Like all things worthwhile, love comes at a price, and the cost soon bestows more anguish than joy. Lost, but not undone, Anne must find the courage to begin life anew, or succumb to sorrow's unrelenting waves of grief.

Purchase Links:

Purchase Links:

Print
Createspace (Best Option)
Amazon

eBook
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Kobo
Bookstrand
Smashwords
Apple (iTunes/iBooks)




**Nona’s review of Love’s Sorrow**

This book surprised me as I expected a romance and discovered a historical novel with romantic elements. The story takes place in England and the United States during the mid-1800s.

The story is told in first person as Anne, the heroine, tells of being raised as little more than a servant by her aunt and uncle. When an opportunity arises to live with a cousin in the city, in the role of governess, Anne jumps at the chance. She’s welcomed warmly in her cousin’s home and finds herself treated much better than a servant. Still, her lack of social standing puts her in a gray area where she’s neither privileged young lady nor a common servant. Her lack of social acceptance only turns more painful when she falls in love with the dashing Scotsman, Gavin McKay.

The novel covers Anne’s relationship with Gavin, their eventual marriage and her growth from an insecure young girl to a woman whose ease in society hides her unhappiness at the troubles in her marriage. The ending has Anne making a surprising decision that shows just how much she’s changed by the end of the book. The twist leaves the reader eager to find out just what happens in the next installment of the series.

Though I sympathized with Anne, I think I’d have felt more involved in her story if it had moved more briskly. She’s a compassionate character who tries to help others, but her starry eyed view of Gavin shows just how naïve she is. There were enough clues to his true character that I occasionally grew impatient with her making excuses for him. Of course, the times were against her as wives were basically the property of their husbands during that era. She put up with far too much from him, and I cheered when she finally acquired a spine. But does her final decision go too far? That’s for the reader to decide.

If you enjoy a leisurely paced historical saga that focuses on the heroine’s growth, then you will want to give Love’s Sorrow a try. 


Bio:
Terri started writing stories in the 8th grade, when a little gnome whispered in her brain. Gundi’s Great Adventure never hit the best seller list, but it started a long love affair with storytelling.
Today she enjoys an escape to Middle Earth during the rare ‘me’ moments her three young children allow. When not playing toys, picking them back up, or kissing boo-boos, she can be found sprawled on the couch with a book or pencil in hand, and toothpicks propping her eyelids open.

Ms. Rochenski’s Links:

Link for Love’s Sorrow on Goodreads:



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday, April 18, 2014

The Cowboy's Email Bride by Cora Seton #review #giveaway #GoddessFish



*Please note: Cora will award a $100 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.*


THE COWBOY’S E-MAIL ORDER BRIDE
by Cora Seton

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

Ethan Cruz should be mending fences on his Montana ranch, but instead he's driving to the Chance Creek, Montana, airport - to pick up the bride he didn't know he had. This latest salvo in his ongoing practical joke battle with his best friend, Rob Matheson, has gone too far, and Ethan plans to send his "bride" right back home, then get busy plotting his revenge. One look at Autumn Leeds changes his mind, however. Perhaps he needs a bride, after all. A breathtakingly beautiful city bride.

Autumn Leeds needs a story - fast - or she's going to lose her lucrative contract with CityPretty Magazine, so when she sees the crazy video plea for a modern mail-order bride for a cowboy, it sounds like the story of the century. Making a video of her own, she casts herself as the perfect mail-order bride for a rancher, but when she finally reaches Montana, she's surprised to find Ethan's the perfect cowboy husband-to-be. Against her better judgment, her plan to keep her handsome groom at arm's length disintegrates into a night of passion spent in his arms.

Ethan knows he can't keep playing this game - he has to come clean with Autumn and tell her the truth; about the practical joke and about the state of his ranch. He's about to lose it all because of the debts his mother racked up before his parents' deaths. Now his sister, Claire, wants to sell the ranch and collect what little money they can. He'll be out of a home and a job, and in no shape to support the bride he desperately wants to marry, after all.

Autumn's in bigger trouble than ever. Not only has she fallen in love with the subject of her expose - she might be carrying his child. If she doesn't write this article and secure her contract for another year, she'll lose everything - her career, her apartment, and more importantly, her family's approval. The only alternative is to stay and marry Ethan. But how can she trust a man she's just met when she knows too well that men always let you down?

Can a love based on lies last?

Excerpt:

She glanced up at Ethan to find him glancing down, and the warm feeling curved around her insides again. Surely New York men couldn’t be shorter than this crew, or any less manly, but she couldn’t remember the last time she’d been around so much blatant testosterone. She must be ovulating. Why else would she react like this to a perfect stranger?

Ethan touched her arm. “This way.” She followed him down the hall, the others falling into place behind them like a cowboy entourage. She stifled a sudden laugh at the absurdity of it all, slipped her hand into her purse and grabbed her digital camera, capturing the scene with a few clicks. Had this man – this…cowboy – sat down and planned out the video he’d made? She tried to picture Ethan bending over a desk and carefully writing out “Sweet. Good cook. Ready for children.”

She blew out a breath and wondered if she was the only one stifling in this sudden heat. Ready for children? Hardly. Still…if she was going to make babies with anyone…

Shaking her head to dispel that dangerous image, she found herself at the airport’s single baggage carousel. It was just shuddering to life and within moments she pointed out first one, then another sleek, black suitcase. Ethan took them both, began to move toward the door and then faltered to a stop. He avoided her gaze, focusing on something far beyond her shoulder. “It’s just…I wasn’t….”

Oh God, Autumn thought, a sudden chill racing down her spine. Her stomach lurched and she raised a hand as if to ward off his words. She hadn’t even considered this.

He’d taken one look and decided to send her back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Nona’s Review of The Cowboy’s E-mail Order Bride by Cora Seton**

Ethan Cruz wasn’t expecting a bride. In fact, after his fiancée dumped him when she discovered his precarious financial state, he’s turned his back on women. One night while drunk he regales his buddies with his idea of the perfect wife. As a practical joke, his friends record his ramblings and upload the video to the internet. From the applicants who respond to this viral “Who Wants to Marry a Cowboy?” Autumn Leeds is selected and flies to Montana to meet her supposed fiancé.
      
What Ethan and his pals don’t know is, Autumn is an imposter. She’s a reporter for a snarky city magazine, and hopes to gather enough info to write an article mocking the “country bumpkins” and save her job.
    
So neither Ethan nor Autumn is being truthful. He doesn’t know that she’s there under false pretenses and she doesn’t realize the video was just a gag. Ethan intends to be honest but as soon as he lays eyes on his “fiancée”, he’s smitten and keeps delaying the moment of truth. It doesn’t take the couple long to get busy in the bedroom. Autumn, meanwhile, finds herself falling not only for Ethan, but for country life as well.
     
This was an enjoyable, sexy story with complications galore. Ethan’s parents left him in debt. He wants to hold on to the ranch, but his sister, who owns half, is pushing him to sell. Ethan’s ex-girlfriend seems to be stalking him, even though she’s already hooked another man. Autumn’s self-esteem suffers from constantly comparing herself to her successful mother and sister, neither of whom is dependent on a man.
     
It’s only a matter of time before the dominoes begin to fall and each secret is revealed. The author did a nice job of making me care about the main characters. Neither one is perfect, but they’re basically decent people who are troubled by their respective lack of honesty. They’ve both been hurt in the past. Ethan is hard working, loves his ranch and dreams of becoming a husband and family man. Autumn, to her surprise, finds her own dreams align with his and is determined to help him save his land.
    
We get to meet Ethan’s cowboy friends, as well as others in the town, and they’re an interesting bunch who I hope to see more of in future books. The author even manages to make Ethan’s bad girl ex sympathetic by the end of the story. I recommend The Cowboy’s Email Order Bride for all lovers of romance—and cowboys!


AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Cora Seton loves cowboys, country life, gardening, bike-riding, and lazing around with a good book. Mother of four, wife to a computer programmer/eco-farmer, she ditched her California lifestyle nine years ago and moved to a remote logging town in northwestern British Columbia.

Like the characters in her novels, Cora enjoys old-fashioned pursuits and modern technology, spending mornings transforming a neglected one-acre lot into a paradise of orchards, berry bushes and market gardens, and afternoons writing the latest Chance Creek romance novel on her iPad mini. Visit www.coraseton.com to read about new releases, contests and other cool events!


Blog: www.coraseton.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/coraseton



Smashwords:  http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/coraseton

Please follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:




Saturday, June 15, 2013

Review by Rach - Frostbound by Sharon Ashwood

Hey folks, 
It's time for another Review by Rach. 

Today we have FROSTBOUND by Sharon Ashwood. A couple years ago, I picked this book up at the RWA Conference, and it's been sitting on my huge TBR pile until a few weeks ago when I went looking for a paranormal read. And boy did I ever find one. 

Paranormal romance will always kind of be my first love, since it was the first genre I read. Sometimes, it's hard to jump into a paranormal series in the middle and not get lost, but I didn't feel like I lost anything. This was my first Sharon Ashwood book, and I ran off to my digital store and bought another one as soon as I finished with this one! 

Talia and Lore were both compelling characters with difficult pasts. They were instantly pitted against one another in the book, and the obstacles were stacked against them. They were not just from different places, but different species. What the hell do a hellhound and a vampire have in common, after all?

It was an exciting ride, filled with danger, intrigue, and passion. Overall, I really enjoyed the book, but I thought Lore and Talia could have been forced to wait a while longer before admitting their love to themselves and each other. It almost seemed a little forced to have these revelations so early on in the book, even though you could see them falling for each other, I think it should have been drawn out a bit more. I would definitely recommend this book to friends and fellow lovers of paranormal romance! 

I'm currently reading the first book in the series, RAVENOUS and I really like this one too. :-) 



Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Reviews by Rach: On the Fly by Katie Kenyhercz


Hi folks, we have a special Review & Interview this week with my friend, Katie Kenyhercz, author of On the Fly. And isn't it just such a beautiful cover?  

Welcome, Katie.

First, can you tell us all a bit about yourself?
Sure! I’ve loved writing since I was twelve and knew I wanted to do something with it but wasn’t sure what, so I became a professional student. From BA to MA and now MFA. When I tell my family, “This is it! I’ll be done with school in June,” they smile and say, “Sure, okay.” I’m not locking the door on Ph.D, but I’m putting it in the attic for now. I’m happy writing hockey romance and will continue, but I also want to teach creative writing at the college level. That’s up next!

And your recent release?
On the Fly has been a labor of love. I started writing scenes for it ten years ago, but I couldn’t get the plot where I wanted it for a full-length novel. It took my MFA program to get me on track and make everything gel. Jacey inherits her father’s NHL team unexpectedly. She’s well versed in business but not so much in hockey and stumbles a bit as she figures it out. To complicate things, she falls for the team captain, Carter Phlynn. As things heat up off-ice, the press latches on. Jacey has to choose between being with the man she loves and saving the team her father loved and trusted her with.

So… I know this is a very personal question… but are you a plotter or a pantser (for those of you readers out there who aren’t sure what this means, it’s a question about her writing style – does she plot out each detail of a book before she sits down to write it, or does she just write it by the seat of her pants)
It’s funny you ask, because I’ve recently had a revelation about this. I always thought I was a plotter. I totally believe in the logic behind it. How can you write a story if you don’t know where it’s going? At the same time, I knew plotting was the one element of fiction that gave me trouble. Just in the past few months, I’ve discovered I’m a weird hybrid. I know how I want my book to end, and I know how it starts. It’s the in between stuff that gets messy, so I’ll plot a few middle chapters at a time. Nothing involved, just scene ideas. That way, when I sit down to write them, there’s still an element of pantsing, letting the scenes unfold as they will, just knowing each one has a specific purpose. I guess the short answer is: I’m a pantser who desperately wants to plot and try to as much as I can.

What do you love most about Carter Phlynn, the hero of On the Fly?
A recent reviewer best summed up how I feel about Carter: “Carter is a breath of fresh air in the hero department. He doesn’t brood. He doesn’t have scars beyond the physical ones he’s earned on-ice. He’s not afraid of his emotions. He’s just a guy lambasted by a connection to this girl.”
I love a wounded puppy hero as much as the next girl, but I wanted Carter to be different. It’s pretty common for a guy to be the uncertain one, the hesitant one in a relationship. I wanted to turn that around. Serious relationships are new territory for Carter, but once he admits to himself how he feels about Jacey, it doesn’t scare him. He knows what he wants and goes for it.

What do you love most about Jacey Vaughn, your heroine?
Similarly, Jacey is a fun contradiction. She’s smart, strong, and dedicated, but when it comes to love, she’s gun shy. Her feelings scare her because being vulnerable means giving up control. She’s logical to a fault and makes the tough decisions even when it hurts. Carter opens her up and shows her that trust is what takes true strength, and if she takes a leap of faith, he’ll be there to catch her. For the first time in her life, she’s not the caregiver, and that’s scary but thrilling.

What are you working on now?
I’m writing the next Las Vegas Sinners novel, Full Strength. This is the goalie’s book. Shane Reese is injured near the end of a less-than-stellar season and taken out of play. He’s never been seriously injured before, and he doesn’t handle it well. He’s especially frustrated because he knows his play wasn’t up to snuff before the high ankle sprain, and there are rumors he might be traded in the off season. Enter Alexandra (Allie) Kallen, the new team sports psychologist. She’s out to prove her ability as a therapist after returning her last client to play too early, leading to his re-injury. A former soccer goalie, Allie understands Reese in a way not many can. An injury ended her playing days, so she gets his frustration and fears. They fall for each other, but as long as he’s her patient, a relationship is off limits.

Where can readers find you? (Facebook, twitter, website, blog, etc.)

And where can they find your books?
Pretty much any e-book retailer!

Thanks so much for coming by, Katie. It was a blast. 
Thank you for having me!

Do you have a giveaway or any other information to share with our readers today? 
I'm picking five lucky readers to win a pair of Sinners glow horns like those mentioned in On the Fly. To score a pair of these babies...




Drop me an email at ken9002@setonhill.edu with your favorite scene from the book by April 8th. I'll get in touch with the winners by the next day. Good luck, and thanks for reading!



And now for the review: 

First let me say that I was lucky enough to see On the Fly  in its draft stages while Katie and I were in the MFA program together, and it's been wonderful to see how it's changed. I was very happy to revisit Carter and Jacey. 

Jacey Vaughn has a newly minted MBA when her father dies unexpectedly and leaves her his NHL team. Well-versed in business but not so much in hockey, Jacey navigates this new world with a few stumbles. She definitely doesn’t plan on falling for the team captain. At the first hint of scandal, a local Las Vegas reporter latches on, and Jacey finds herself in the newspaper with headlines that hurt instead of help. Jacey’s determined to keep her father’s legacy alive and make the team successful, but while she has no problem denying her feelings to the media, she can’t lie to herself.

Carter Phlynn has known nothing but hockey his entire life. Drafted into the NHL at age eighteen, winning the Stanley Cup is all he’s ever wanted. Nothing has ever disrupted his focus. Not until he meets his new boss. Jacey gets under his skin like no one else, and while dating the team owner would be a disaster for his career and reputation, he can’t get her out of his head. Carter has never had a relationship last more than a month, but the more he’s around Jacey, the more he can’t picture his future without her.


Five out of Five Divas! 
What can I say about this book that would be good enough? On the Fly was a sweet, sexy, funny romance. The humor comes through in almost all of the scenes. There are smart, witty allusions, unexpected turns of phrases, and a love of hockey that shines through the page. There were actually parts in the book where I thought I was REALLY at a hockey game. Carter and Jacey are adorable and made for each other. She's convinced she can't have it all - the team, the Stanley Cup, and the Captain. But Carter is determined to throw caution to the wind and sweep her off her feet, teaching her how to trust, how to love, and how to fight for it all. 

TRR

The Romance Reviews